Stephen Wood, manager of the Gwynedd and Ynys Mon Youth Justice Service presented his report to the care scrutiny committee on the 29th, January, 2026.
The webcast of the meeting can be found here -
https://gwynedd.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/1060285
There appears to be a change of culture within the service that coincides with a big drop in the numbers of young people being criminalised through the courts.
Wood informed that the short, sharp shock tactics do not work.
On youth offender's...
Asked what the big problems were, he stated, violence and adults taking drugs.
He mentioned that middle class children also commit crime - but they don't get caught.
Hotspots include Caernarfon, Bangor, Holyhead, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llangefni.
Cocaine was also raised as a problem locally.
It takes a village to raise a child...
Over the years, local schools have closed and super schools built instead. Many village's then lost their local shop, their bakery closed and then the pub. Families moved and communities were lost.
Then the council shut the youth clubs and sacked the youth workers.
Audit Wales warned against this but the messenger was derided by councillors at a full council meeting on the 3rd October, 2019.
Schools have failed the children, too.
Pre-pandemic the policy was to include children - now figures show more children are excluded.
Idle hands and all that...
Does the ''Keeping Families Together' strategy co-authored by the interim head of the children's department, Sharron Williams Carter, show a change of culture?
One can hope...
Predetermined to fail..?
The work of the 16+ team was discussed.
This service has had its issues, too.
From social workers poor note taking and a team leader that has been accused of faking assessments and setting up children and families to fail.
Estyn have just completed a joint inspection with a focus on safeguarding in Gwynedd Council -
The purpose of this inspection was to
evaluate developments in Gwynedd Local Authority’s safeguarding
arrangements since September 2023.
Joint inspection with a focus on safeguarding in Gwynedd Council by Estyn, His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education, and Training in Wales, and Care Inspectorate Wales.
Date of inspection: November 2025
The inspection team considered one key question:-
How well are children protected from individuals who may pose a risk to them and when concerns are raised about those who care for them or work with them, either in a paid or voluntary role?
This question is not answered...
Estyn and the CIW do mention this -
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Did Estyn and Care Inspectorate Wales actually read this piece of work?
https://www.effectivechildprotection.wales/en/
Was this presented to Estyn and CIW as new and innovative?
The 'effective child protection' model was created by Dafydd Paul - many years ago.
It does not answer the investigation teams key question nor deal with abuse by those in a position of trust...
Now where is the report of the fostering team..?
Something is very wrong within Gwynedd council...
